Beautiful Destroyer

Chapter Fourteen

"So the plan," Vin began as the sun peeked through the window, "is that you will play the part of Wardes' mourning widow, unaware of his crimes."

"No one is aware of his crimes," Louise pointed out. "Otherwise, he would have been stripped of his title instead of passing it on to me."

"Right. Then, Wardes' fellow conspirators will find you sympathetic to their goals, and they'll want to induct you into their organization because ..."

"Because you are my familiar, the legendary Gandalfr."

"Which makes you potentially a powerful Void mage." They would need an excuse for Louise to not demonstrate her Void magic, like it was so powerful she could destroy the city by accident. Or ... something less ridiculous. "Lord Ruler, this con seems flimsy when I say it out loud."

Louise frowned. "Should we change it?"

Vin shook her head. "Every con is paper thin. We just need to make it appear good enough that no one looks too closely. Now the first thing we need to do is ..."

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"Another leave of absence?" Headmaster Osmond leaned back in his chair. "So soon after you returned?"

Louise nodded. "It can't be helped, I'm afraid. I need to settle some affairs as a new viscountess immediately. I'll return to continue my studies as soon as I can."

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"And while you're at it, you should ..."

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"Of course!" Professor Colbert said. "A self-directed study while you're away is a great idea. What in?"

"My spellcraft has been lacking," Louise admitted, "so I'd like to focus on something more academic."

His face lit up with a broad smile. "That's wonderful! I've always found academia to be more magical than magic itself. You can take something as simple as transferring chemical energy into thermal energy into kinetic energy, and then ... actually, why don't I just show you? It's something I've been—"

"I'll be researching history."

"Oh," he said, deflating. "That's good, too. Lots of interesting things have happened in the past, I suppose."

"Specifically the history of Founder Brimir."

"Founder Brimir is a broad subject. Perhaps you could narrow it to—"

"To one of his familiars, perhaps?"

Colbert froze.

"Maybe Gandalfr," she continued. "Though some of the books I want are in the restricted section, and I can't check them out without proper authorization." She smiled innocently and slid an unsigned permission slip across the table. "Would you be willing to ..."

"Always ... always happy to help a student achieve her academic potential," he said, scribbling his name on it. "I hope you learn something."

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"Anything else?"

Vin pursed her lips, going through the plan in her mind. She thought about Camon's and Kelsier's plans. Even Camon had nearly twenty people in his crew and contacts throughout the underground, and Kelsier's crew put that to shame. Vin had herself and Louise.

For a moment she imagined herself leading a massive crew. Not just the two of them but Kirche and Tabitha too, their dynamic mirroring Kelsier and Dox, and Siesta with a thin facade of servility that she broke even more easily than Sazed, and Guiche as ... as himself.

But each extra person was a liability. Anyone who knew what they were up to could betray them, or maybe just let something slip, or be captured, tortured, and interrogated. Anyone she recruited could die.

As luck would have it, Guiche himself passed by them in the hallway, Montmorency at his side. Long, blonde hair. Red ribbons. A proud gait. The pretty noble matched him in a way Vin couldn't define.

He smiled at her as he passed, but it was discreet. A shared secret.

There's always another secret.

Kelsier's words, but Reen's voice.

Part of her wanted to approach him, let him know that she would be gone for a while if only to see how he would respond, but ...

"No," she said. "Nothing at all."

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They reached Count Richmon's manor that afternoon, a few blocks away from the castle in the noble district. It was smaller than her father's house, though it might not have been fair to compare country mansions to city manors. Louise studied the trimmed hedges, conservative gardens, and rather bleak architecture, and found the whole image austere.

Vin helped her down from the carriage, but didn't say a word. She was already in character down to her expression, and Louise followed suit. She quelled her worries and her excitement as best she could and tried to adopt the persona of a grieving widow. Stiff back, stiff jaw, stiff gait. Was that right?

Well, if she really had lost the love of her life (instead of having been betrayed by him), she'd likely be curled up in her bed, crying her eyes out, being wholly useless. But this was how her mother would act if her father had died. It didn't matter if she was at a wedding or a funeral, a party or a war, Karin de La Vallière was always steel.

A servant arrived to escort them to Count Richmon's office shortly afterward, and Louise found herself taken aback. The room was gaudy, full of expense but lacking in style, not matching the exterior of the manor at all. The marble floor was polished to a mirror sheen, the red rug felt soft beneath her shoes, and between velvet curtains was a larger than life portrait of the count with a frame of gold filigree.

Then there was the man himself. Old, with short white hair and a square face, dressed in a gray smock that would have looked humble on a monk. He smiled at her in a way he probably thought was grandfatherly. "Ah, young Viscountess Vallière. Or would you prefer Viscountess Wardes?"

Louise froze. Which name? The two of them had gone over every detail, had prepared for every eventuality except that. Way to go, Zero. It took you all of five seconds to screw this up. Vallière was the more prestigious of the two names, but Wardes was the name of the man she was supposed to be grieving, but she was a Vallière, but she was pretending to—

Suddenly her fears vanished, and Louise felt as calm as a winter's night. "Vallière," she said, taking off her black laced, wide brimmed hat. It matched the black dress she wore as her grieving widow attire. "He intended to take my family's name after our union was made public, having no living family of his own."

The old man nodded. "My condolences for your loss. He was a good man. A consummate professional."

Was that a clue? Was he implying that Wardes had been working for him when he had been betraying the kingdom? Or had Wardes fooled him like he had fooled everyone else?

"He was," she agreed. "And the best way I can honor his memory is by fulfilling his duties. I know he would want no less."

He blinked, then barked out a laugh. "My apologies," he said, regaining composure. "My apologies. I've only known your family by reputation, but my goodness you live up to it."

Louise frowned, not sure if she was being complimented or insulted. She split the difference and kept her expression neutral. "And?"

"And Wardes was a military man, even during a time of peace." He smiled. His already wide mouth made the expression look vulgar. "I'm sure a Vallière can understand that. I, however, cannot say the same about myself. I am the Minister of Public Decency, so unless you care to spend your days at the playhouses and the theaters making sure that the entertainment follows the kingdom's obscenity laws, there isn't a great deal I need you for."

Louise stared at him. His job was to watch plays? Brimir, that wasn't a real position for a nobleman, that was ... that was being a fop by official appointment! Her tone went colder. "Is that what you had Wardes do for you?"

He shook his head. "Oh no. His duties as the captain of the griffon knights took precedence. He served as my royal liaison, but that is all. So unless you have a convenient way into the palace, I'm afraid—"

"I was the princess' playmate when we were children." Royal liaison? Curious, but there was a necessary degree of coordination between the royalty and the nobility, and the palace guard made contact difficult.

Count Richmon blinked. "What?"

"Her playmate," she said slowly. "We are still close friends even to this day. I was thinking of paying her a visit tomorrow after I've settled in."

He stared at her, then slowly closed his mouth. "Oh. I ... will take that under consideration."

"Good. Now, if you have no more business for me, I have business for you. My husband is dead. His body was not recovered, so there will be no burial, but he deserves a funeral. I will be hosting a gathering in his honor one week from today at the Wardes Manor at three o'clock in the afternoon. All of his peers should be made aware of that."

He nodded, a blank expression on his face. "I will pass that along."

"Thank you," she said, standing up. "Count Richmon, good day."

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"Well, that went well," Louise said once they were back in the carriage.

"You think so?"

She nodded. Better than well. That otherworldly calm had vanished as soon as she left the count's manor, leaving her feeling exhilarated. Even if she didn't have the raw magical power for combat, she could still ... "Wait, did I offer to carry a message to the princess for the count, or spy on her?"

Vin frowned. "Why would he need a messenger? Why would you want to be a messenger?"

"I ... well, I don't want to be a spy! Not on the princess!"

She shook her head. "Do you know what sort of position that would put you in?"

"A scummy one?"

"No, a useful one. Let's say you spy on the princess for him, and he grills you with questions about ... finances. Is she borrowing? Lending? Who from? Who to? Is she going to raise taxes? What does that tell you?"

Louise stared at her blankly.

"It tells you what sort of weaknesses and opportunities he's looking for. Information is the most dangerous weapon you can get your hands on, but any question you ask an informant is something they can sell your enemies."

"So I can tell the princess that the count is looking for her weaknesses," Louise said. "But I'd still have to give them to the count, and I'm not going to do that."

Vin gave her a flat look. "Then lie. Tell him that when you were having tea with the princess, she revealed to you how she was faking weakness to lull her enemies into overconfidence, all while playing them for fools. He'll back down and try to find another angle or even give up entirely."

Louise frowned. "That would work?"

Vin shrugged. "You'd have to have to share enough verifiable information to get his trust, and you have to assume you're not his only spy, but he'll have to take your word seriously."

Louise mulled over the idea. It was low, treacherous work Vin was talking about, and it would sully her family name. And people would trust her more because of her family name. Valliére. Honorable. Proud. Bold. Steel.

But ... but she sullied her family name just by being herself. What was a noble who could do no magic? But what is magic, if not a noble's word? That thought lingered in her mind, and the more it sat there, the more she liked it. If she could not conjure up fire and ice with her words, then she would weave lies, and she would use those lies to protect the royal family as the Valliéres had done for generations.

Running this con was, after all, her idea. There were traitors in the kingdom. Wardes was one. Count Richmon as his direct superior, the other nobles in his retinue, the griffon knights who served under him, his fellow knight captains, and even his neighbors were all suspects.

With any luck, Louise would meet them at his funeral, and root them out one by one. He had been, after all, her husband, and she could think of no better way to honor his memory than that.

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A/n And that's the end of the chapter. It's more of a set up than anything else, but it's a new story arc (and one that won't follow the stations of canon so closely), so some set up is merited. This has been edited by Exiled, and I must thank him again for polishing it up and making it suitable for public viewing, and I must also thank my ever growing list of Patrons, Exiled, Prime 2.0, Sphinxes, Kelsey Bull, Hubris Prime, Janember, Yotam Bonneh, Svistka, Lord of Edges, LordXamon, Victoria Carey, Kurkistan, Bernie McGuire, Christopher Harris, Luminant, and Jan. This story wouldn't be going as it is without you.